For a compiler, they are not different. But for a human reading the code, the second one is just as readable as machine code. It might be anal, but code readability is a must for a project of any size to success, unless the unreadable code is the goal itself. This code is actually a working flight simulator.

Sometimes it is necessary to write unreadable code, like the following, but not without proper comments.

boost::bind(
/*
Since IVideoDriver::getTexture is overloaded, vi must explicitly tell the compiler
the exact methodd we're going to use with boost::bind with static_cast.
This is our target signature:
* static_cast<ITexture*(IVideoDriver::*)(const irr::io::path&)>
And the matching method in IVideoDriver:
* (&IVideoDriver::getTexture)
*/
static_cast<ITexture*(IVideoDriver::*)(const irr::io::path&)>(&IVideoDriver::getTexture),
/* Pointer to the driver */
m_Driver,
/* Argument to the bound method */
filename.c_str())

Which brings me to the final point. When exploring new ideas, and new methods and new libraries, it takes some time to get used to the conventions, and how to make the code pretty. Multiplayer is progressing, but most of the progress at the time is behind the scenes with improved networking infrastructure and cleaner code.